1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a roof rack. More particularly, the present invention pertains to a folding roof rack for a vehicle.
A roof rack is a set of bars secured to the roof of a vehicle, and is designed for transporting items that cannot fit inside the vehicle, such as luggage, bicycles, canoes, kayaks, or skis. A roof rack enables transport of objects on the roof of the vehicle without reducing the interior space thereof. This allows for the interior of the vehicle to be used for occupants, and smaller items that fit within the cargo area. While many sport utility vehicles include factory roof racks, these devices are not designed to support bicycles, canoes, kayaks, or other large items. This has created a need for aftermarket roof rack systems that can be installed on a variety of vehicle types.
The three most common components of a roof rack system are load bars, which span the width of the vehicle; towers, which attach the load bars to the vehicle; and mounts, which secure items to the load bars. Roof racks are mounted directly to the gutter surrounding the roof line on older vehicles, while modern vehicles, which do not have gutters, mount the rack by attaching hooks to the top of the door frames. While these aftermarket roof racks can be secured to the roof of cars and sport utility vehicles, they are not adapted for attachment to the bed of a pickup truck.
Since aftermarket roof racks are not adapted for use in pickup trucks, many truck owners transport their surfboards, paddleboards, or sports equipment in the back of pickup trucks. This can be problematic when carrying cargo items that are longer than the length of the truck bed. This requires one end of the board to extend beyond the length of the bed, which makes the board susceptible to damage, or can otherwise cause a driving hazard if they obstruct the driver's view out of the back window. In addition, the boards can shift about and knock into each other during transport, which can damage the boards or the truck bed.
The present invention overcomes the problems inherent in roof racks by providing a rack that can be attached to the bed of a pickup truck. The device comprises a load bar, a pair of telescoping uprights, and a pair of mounts. The roof rack is movable from an extended position for use when carrying cargo items to a folded position for storage. The rack permits a user to transport large items with a pickup truck without requiring use of the pickup bed.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Devices have been disclosed in the prior art that relate to roof racks. These include devices that have been patented and published in patent application publications. These devices generally relate to roof racks that attach to the top of a car or sport utility vehicle. The forgoing is a list of devices deemed most relevant to the present disclosure, which are herein described for the purposes of highlighting and differentiating the unique aspects of the present invention, and further highlighting the drawbacks existing in the prior art.
Specifically, McCall, U.S. Pat. No. 7,758,091 discloses a collapsible ladder rack system for use on a pickup truck that utilizes housings, main arms, material arms, extension arms, and supporting braces. The housings are secured to the rails. The hinged main arms rise vertically and are locked into place by braces. The hinged material arms rise horizontally and lock into place with braces. The extension arms telescope out of two of the material arms and insert into the empty material arms and lock into place. While the McCall device discloses a folding roof rack, the device does not utilize a load bar, a pair of telescoping uprights attached to the load bar, and a pair of mounts attached at a first end to the telescoping uprights, and at a second end to the side rails of the pickup truck.
Hood, U.S. Pat. No. 5,152,570 discloses a side frame that is mountable on a truck and is retractable into a compact package. Each frame comprises anchor members to which support posts are pivoted and which slidably support a longitudinally extending rail at their upper ends. A plurality of load supporting members are removably attached between the rails of the side frames. The Hood device discloses a pair of telescoping rail posts adapted to fit truck beds of different lengths, and does not disclose a rack that can extend for use when carrying cargo items, and fold down for storage when not in use.
Hinderaker, U.S. Pat. No. 4,747,529 discloses a collapsible rack for use with skis or other elongated articles, comprising a pair of units adapted to be mounted spaced apart, such as on the roof of a car, each unit having a hinged assembly which when vertically upright, allows the skis to be positioned therein, and which when pivoted toward a horizontal position wedges against the skis to secure them therein. The '529 device, while disclosing a collapsible rack, has a structure that is considerably different from the present invention. The device attaches to the roof of a vehicle, and folds down to secure the skis in position. The present invention attaches to the side rails of a pickup truck, and extends for use when carrying cargo items, and folds down for storage when not in use.
DeCosta, U.S. Pat. No. 6,715,653 discloses an adjustable rack and clamping apparatus for removably retaining surfboards or the like to the roof of a vehicle, while preventing the theft thereof, includes a plurality of two types of mounting block assemblies that slidably attach to two transversely disposed mounting bars removably affixed to the vehicle. While this device discloses a pair of clamps that mount to a vehicle load bar, the roof rack is attached to a vehicle between the door and the doorframe. The DeCosta device does not attach to the side rails of a pickup truck, or extend for use or fold for storage, but instead remains in a static position when carrying cargo or when it is not in use.
Finally, Bolich, U.S. Pat. No. 5,582,044 discloses a method of locking a surfboard to a roof rack crossbar using a series of adjustable mount block assemblies affixed to the rack crossbars at a lateral position of contact with the sides of a surfboard placed horizontally on top of the crossbars. The mount block assemblies utilize a metal clamp that is vertically adjusted to the thickness of the surfboard at the lateral position of contact. An internal axle connects two side cams vertically adjacent to a center mount block with a clamp affixed within the side cams. The axle allows for the clamp assemblies to open and close by means of rotation of the side cams relative to the position of the mount block. Similar to the DeCosta device, the '044 patent describes a clamping means for attaching a device such as a surfboard to a roof rack. It does not disclose a folding roof rack that can attach to a pickup truck.
The devices disclosed in the prior art provide a variety of roof racks for transporting cargo items on the top of a vehicle. The majority of these devices, however, attach to a vehicle and remain in a fixed position when carrying items or when not in use. While some prior art devices disclose folding roof racks, these devices do not disclose a load bar, a pair of telescoping uprights attached to the load bar, and a pair of mounts attached at a first end to the telescoping uprights, and at a second end to the side rails of the pickup truck. The present invention can be extended for use when carrying cargo items, and folded down for storage when not in use. This permits a user to transport large items with the rack, and to fold the device to prevent it from decreasing fuel efficiency.
In light of the prior art and the disclosed elements of the present invention, it is submitted that the present invention substantially diverges in design elements from the prior art. Consequently, it is clear that that present invention is not described by the art and that a need exists for a folding roof rack that attaches to a vehicle. In this regard, the instant invention substantially fulfills these needs.